Never in the last twenty years has it been difficult to do business as it is this year, stated Mihael Furjan, CEO of Pliva, at the annual gathering with journalists. Nevertheless, according to Furjan, this company is having another successful year, even though it, like the entire Croatian, European, and global economy, is facing difficulties.
– The explosion of rising business costs, raw materials, and energy, as well as problems with supply chains, is something the pharmaceutical industry has not experienced even during the coronavirus pandemic, said Furjan. Supply chains have broken down due to a lack of capacity, but also due to the over-regulation of the pharmaceutical industry, which is the most regulated industry in the world, as every raw material supplier needs to obtain approval from national drug agencies or the European Medicines Agency.
– Business costs have risen double digits, producer inflation in Croatia is significantly higher than what we see as consumers. Production costs are much higher than planned, and no one expected when plans were made last summer that we would have such high inflation, said Furjan.
Pliva generates 90 percent of its revenue abroad and operates in more than 60 markets, with 200 million people using its medicines daily, and Furjan believes that this year’s revenue will be similar to or slightly better than in 2021, when it amounted to around 4.7 billion kuna, with a profit of about one billion kuna.
The double-digit growth in business costs is being offset by increasing productivity. This year, it will produce 7.5 billion tablet units compared to last year when just under seven billion were produced.
– We are one of the few sectors that cannot raise prices for prescription drugs because they are regulated by medical agencies and health funds in the European Union. Therefore, we appeal to the government, the ministry, and HZZO to find a way to recognize our cost increases, said Furjan.
